CHAPTER 5
The American Revolution, 1776–1783
This chapter treats the principal battles of the Revolution by chronology and region; investigates Loyalist
and Patriot strengths; surveys problems of the Continental army and the financing of the war; examines
the degree to which a revolution occurred at home; covers the technical moves for independence at state
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Mobilizing for War
A. The Continental Army
B. Problems of Finance and Supply
C. Native Americans and the Revolution
D. Disaster in Canada
E. Washington’s Narrow Escape
F. A Desperate Gamble
G. Winter in Morristown
H. A Strategy of Evasion
II. American Society at War
III. Setbacks for the British (1777)
V. A War of Endurance
A. The Virginia Campaign
B. Yorktown
C. The Treaty of Paris (1783)
i. A Negotiated Peace
VI. War as an Engine of Change
A. Republican Ideology
B. State Governments
C. The Articles of Confederation
D. Expansion of Political Participation
VII. The Social Revolution
A. The Exodus of Loyalists
B. Freedom of Religion
VIII. Slaves and the Revolution
A. Southern Backlash
B. The Status of Women
C. Women and Liberty
D. Native Americans and the Revolution
IX. The Emergence of an American Nationalism
LECTURE IDEAS
1. An excellent vehicle for the experience of ordinary Americans caught up in the American Revolution
is the 1985 film Revolution, starring Al Pacino and Nastassja Kinski and directed by Oscar winner
2. A good class project could center on the issues of minority groups in the Revolution. Divide the class
into groups and have each group analyze a different minority, for example, women, blacks, Native
3. An excellent way to examine military strategy during the Revolution, the leadership of General
Washington, the experience of American soldiers, and the roles of the redcoats and the Hessians is to
(2007).
4. A lecture on the Loyalists—who they were and why they remained loyal to Britain—can be based on
5. For a lecture on the social effects of the Revolution, begin with J. Franklin Jameson’s The American
Revolution Considered as a Social Movement (1926). Frederick B. Tolles revises some of Jameson’s
6. A comparison of the American Revolution with other national revolutions could be enlightening for
students. See R. R. Palmer’s “The Revolution” in C. Vann Woodward’s (ed.) The Comparative Approach to
7. One grossly neglected aspect of the American Revolution is the contribution made by Spain to the
cause of the United States, especially through the material support provided from New Orleans by
Louisiana’s governor, Bernardo de Galvez, and through his brilliant Gulf Coast campaigns against the
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
1. The focus of this exercise is to challenge students to think about the advantages and disadvantages
each side faced in the Revolutionary War. Divide the class into two groups, British and American, and
2. The winter of 1777–1778 was pivotal for Washington’s still-young and poorly trained army. Ask your
students to discuss the state of the army, the contributions of Baron Von Steuben, and the impact of
3. Although the American Revolution is often considered exclusively white and male, students should
4. American revolutionaries often charged the British with tyranny, but as one of the few states with a
constitution, Britain actually had one of the most progressive governments in the world. In addition,
the position of the Loyalists is often oversimplified as blindly loyal to the monarchy. Loyalists,
5. The focus of this activity is for students to examine what opportunities existed for women during the
period surrounding the American Revolution. In the chapter, David Shi describes how Abigail Adams
wrote the following words in a letter to her husband, the revolutionary John Adams: “In the new Code
of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Indian participation in European conflicts in North America was not new at the time of the American
2. Discuss the advantages that the American troops had over the British forces during the Revolutionary
War.
4. Discuss Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation and how it impacted the colonists.
6. The nationalism that grew out of the Revolution brought with it the concept that the new nation had a
unique destiny. Examine that idea of American exceptionalism alongside modern manifestations of the
same idea.
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
This chapter details the contrasting membership and roles of the Patriot militia and the citizen-soldiers of
the Continental army. Then, as today, Americans grappled with the issue of how much or what sort of
service one owes one’s country in time of war or national emergency. Do some research to find examples
of countries that require some form of universal military service today. Are there special circumstances
that explain why these countries impose such an obligation? Are there alternative forms that national
service can take? Could the United States possibly benefit from imposing a similar requirement? Once you